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Francoeur, Gordon leaders of young clubhouse

4/4/13: Alex Gordon smacks a double to the right-field wall, bringing home Chris Getz to take the Royals' lead to 3-0 in the fifth inning

By Mike Radano
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Special to MLB.com |

PHILADELPHIA -- With a relatively young team, Royals manager Ned Yost has the benefit of veteran players like Jeff Francoeur and Alex Gordon to fall back on in his clubhouse.

It doesn't seem that long ago that Francoeur and Gordon were up-and-coming stars of the future. Now in their seventh major league seasons, both have had up and downs and both are now veterans that young players can learn from at the Major League level.

"All players find a comfort level," Yost said. "Especially young talented players like they were. They have to go through ups and downs. It makes you a better player if you can battle through it. You learn a lot from adversity.

"I've seen two players come up and never have major adversity. That's Ryan Braun and Chipper Jones. Every good young player has struggled over the course of their career early. They figured it out and went on to be successful."

Mike Radano is a contributor to MLB.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.